Ayub Khan hated 'crooked' Bangalees

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NEW DELHI, June 23 (bdnews24.com): Pakistan's military dictator Ayub Khan loathed "crooked" Bangalees who "have no stomach for self-criticism" and broad sided them for reverting to "Hindu language and culture".
His feelings, which also include Muslim Bangalees 'have no culture and language of their own', came to the public domain after his diaries recently hit the stands in Pakistan and immediately kicked up controversy.
Titled "Dairies of Field Marshall Mohammad Ayub Khan: 1966-72", has come under huge criticism for its views on the 1971 war, where he finds fault with everyone-the "crooked" Bangladeshis, the "devious" Indians and the "unreliable" Americans.
Ayub Khan kept his diary from September 1966 to October 1972, a very active period in Pakistan's history.
It included his yielding of the presidency to Yahya and the period of Yahya's rule that saw the end of the unified state of Pakistan with the independence of Bangladesh, and also Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto replacing Yahya.
In his diaries, Ayub Khan shows no understanding of Bangladeshi pride in the country's linguistic and cultural heritage.
He writes: "When thinking of the problems of East Pakistan, one cannot help feeling that their (Muslim Bangalees') urge to isolate themselves from West Pakistan and revert to Hindu language and culture is close to the fact that they have no culture and language of their own, nor have they been able to assimilate the culture of the Muslims of the sub-continent, by turning their back on Urdu.
"Further, by doing so they have forced two state languages on Pakistan. This has been a great tragedy for them and the rest of Pakistan".
His tirade against the Bangalees did not end here. Writing on his dealings with the Bangalees in erstwhile East Pakistan, he notes: "We must get East Pakistan ministers to examine whether there is any practical solution. I doubt this will bear any fruit, as the Bangalees have no stomach for self-criticism or for listening to the truth about themselves.
"People who do not have these qualities cannot recognise their maladies, let alone cure them."
Ayub Khan's "Diaries" is slowly snowballing into a major controversy with historians, academics and former diplomats condemning the publishing of the book.
It has been withheld from publication for the past 30 years because of an introductory note where Ayub Khan stated that the diary must be withheld from publication for an unspecified time as his comments may contain sensitive material.
G Pathasarathy, India's former ambassador to Pakistan, said the "Diaries" show "Pakistan's rulers never felt any remorse for the genocide of Bangladeshis they committed prior to and during 1971.